Claimed
by Written Shadow
Summary: Daryl Dixon feels guilt over what happened to Beth. He can't let it go and is slowly falling into his new group's ways, and even his old ways. Will someone come along and fix him? Or is he the one who really needs to be fixed?
1. Chapter 1

Daryl couldn't stop thinking of the car that had driven off with Beth. Every time his new group walked past a garage he stopped to 'look for supplies'. He discreetly examined cars for days, but never found _the_ car. He promised himself earlier he wouldn't give into the new group's rules so long as it didn't get him killed. That had been broken once he saw the strawberry. She would've liked 'em. He originally wanted it for himself, but for some reason hadn't eaten it yet. He sat around the small fire they had going, keeping first watch while the others slept.

When it was time, he rested his head on his trash bag. It took him a while to sleep, but when he did he was in the house again. The smell of jelly, pig's feet and diet soda filled his senses, but when he looked around there was one thing missing. The house wasn't warm anymore. The candles had been blown out and the sun was going down. In the yard he saw someone. He grabbed his crossbow which was still by the door, and slowly made his way outside. It was a girl, brown hair, or so he thought until he came closer. Mud covered a blonder hair, and when the walker turned, a familiar set of eyes met his. There was no longer the warmness of her gaze, only hunger. He dropped his crossbow, and when her teeth were about to meet his shoulder he awoke.

Despite the bad dream, that wasn't what woke him up. Instead it was something hitting the noise making trap they had set up. The person on guard that hour had fallen asleep, but now everyone was wide awake and staring at girl who'd been trying to get through the traps and hit a dark bottle. Before Daryl recognized her, he blurted one word.

"Claimed."

_[A/N Short chapter I know, but all first chapters are short. ;) Leave a review, have fun. Thanks for reading, hopefully this story will keep not only you, but me interested so I'm inspired to write the rest. -Sam]_


	2. Chapter 2

He wanted to hug her right then and there. Daryl stood up, cautious of the other men in the group now more than ever.

"He can't be claimin' her there's rules!", One guy complained. Most of them probably hadn't got any in years and a girl like Beth wasn't exactly harsh on the eyes. He picked his crossbow up, holding it single handedly as he made his way over to help her untangle from the strings. She was looking at him with her brows furrowed together in confusion, which was probably about the claiming.

Joe was frowning. Daryl dreaded the outcome of this, but he needed to leave the group sometime, as he'd told them. Beth's hand was still on his shoulder from when she was detangling herself. Joe gazed at her, inspecting her, and she removed her hand from his shoulder, taking a step to the side behind him.

"We haven't made rule's on it yet.", Joe began, still eyeing Beth. It made Daryl tense the slightest amount. His crossbow was already ready, he just needed to discreetly load a bolt in it. "-But I think we need to make one.", he finished. They weren't the sharin' type before, but now that it had come down to Beth, of course that changed. Speaking of Beth, he could feel her behind him, yet she hadn't spoken a word. He heard a rubbing behind him and knew she'd taken out a knife as if they could take on six men at once. Maybe if Beth still had the gun they could, but he assumed she didn't. _Fuck it. _He thought, putting a bolt into his crossbow in plain sight. Joe flicked his eyebrows up, giving him a look that practically begged him to do it.

"I said I'd be leavin' the group some day.", Daryl raised the crossbow, aiming directly at Joe. He wouldn't pull the trigger now, since most of the men had weapons pointed at both of them.

"Alright.", Joe replied. It seemed too easy to Daryl he'd give up Beth, the other guys filled the awkward silence with a groan of disappointment.

"Start walkin'.", he told Beth behind him without moving his head. He heard her quiet footsteps, and then a crash of her knocking into the string of cans. A few more jingles and he knew she was out of the trap and on the other side. He grabbed his trash bag and backed away, keeping a close eye on them. Most men had lowered their weapons. When he got to the trap, he handed his crossbow over to Beth, whose arms sunk a hair from the weight, but she could handle herself. He went in between the two wires, cans clinking on each other as he did so. He took his crossbow back, leading her far away from that camp.

The sun was up, it was barely past dawn; still quite dark outside. He led her through areas that wouldn't leave a trail, taking precautions. The whole day they'd walked Beth hadn't said a word, making him think this was some fucked up dream he was having and any minute she'd turn around and bite him.

During the night he'd found an old house caked in dust, no walkers inside. It was dirty, unlike the mortician's place. There was also no piano, which he didn't know why that was something important he looked for. With the windows boarded up, and the door also, he decided it was safe enough to sit. Before he sat, he noticed something in the living room. They'd entered through the kitchen, and the layout of the house made it easy for him to miss something- a fireplace.

Looters had been here, so there wasn't much left in the house. There were a few logs, but nothing to light a fire with.

"Here.", He finally heard her voice behind him, and a small, plastic object was thrown to him. Where in the hell had she gotten a lighter? He'd have to ask. He lit up an old photo of someone, using it to start the log off, soon enough the two logs left were up in flames, and he sat by the fire, setting his crossbow to the side in arm's reach. Beth sat beside him, her knees tucked into her chest and her eyes watching the fire. Something about her seemed different- her hair was down, but the small braid was still present in it.

"So where you been?", Daryl asked, maintaining his calm. She seemed unharmed, no bruises. If she had bruises, it had been a couple of days and they could have faded by now if they weren't too dark. He didn't have her stuff that had been dropped, he wondered if she'd be mad at him for that. Was she mad at him for not rescuing her, too?

"Wouldn't you like to know, Mr. Dixon"

_[A/N: Okay.. so I kind of didn't expect 8 reviews in an hour o_o or to be threatened with creepy cannibals and crossbows, which kind of (did) lead me to making another chapter. It took me forever to decide where I was going to go with this (also i'm running on 24 hours of no sleep since I was procrastinating thinking of a plot with internet things) , and i'm not gonna lie I was tempted to leave it at one chapter. I'm having fun with it so far and apparently you guys are too :3 Thank you for all the reviews and letting me know you liked the first chapter. :) -Sam]_


	3. Chapter 3

"How'd you find me?", Daryl asked curiously, poking at the fire with a dusty iron tool. he set it down once the flames got bigger, and leaned his head against the bricks of the fireplace. A little bit of a smirk crossed her features.

"I tracked you.", she explained. "Well, I wasn't sure it was you, since there was so many boot prints lookin' like yours. Who were those guys anyway?"

Daryl eyed her. That was pretty good tracking skills for a rookie, but she _had _learned from him. "Group I found. It was either join 'em or die.", he told her, it seemed like that at the time. He wouldn't tell her he looked for her, since he wasn't big on speaking his feelings. He pulled the strawberry out of the trash bag at his side and tossed it to her. She inspected the berry for a moment before smiling down at it. She took a small bite from it, sighing in a relieved way. It was unlike her to be this quiet and Daryl was getting impatient just waiting for an answer.

"What happened?", he asked finally out of curiosity. Beth paused, watching as he popped the other strawberry in his mouth.

"The mortician from the house? He's alive.", She began. "He tried to kill me.. but I got to him first. Killed him with his own knife.", she avoided his gaze and stared at the fire. Now he understood. It was more than likely the first time she killed someone that wasn't already dead. Thinking of Beth killing a person was unusual to him, hell it was weird enough to see her kill walkers. Before he could say anything she was speaking again.

"Maybe I was wrong. Maybe there aren't any good people left.", Beth said in a sorrowful tone, setting her strawberry stem down on the bricks of the fireplace. She eyed it, picked it back up, and threw it into the fire with force.

"Don't say that.", He said, finding it ironic the woman who'd given him hope no longer had any of her own. Her eyes were watered, her lip quivered slightly and he knew she was trying not to cry. He leaned forward, wrapped his arms around her and held her for a moment. He felt her head on his shoulder, and her arms circle around to hug him back.

Her shoulders were shaking, he could feel her silent sobs and salty tears dropping on his shirt. He hadn't ever been close like this to anyone; he didn't know how to help her, but wanted to so badly. He put a hand in her hair, stroking it gently until her sobs quieted down.

When she collected herself twenty minutes later, she picked her head up and wiped away the wetness on her cheeks. Her eyes were puffy, and Daryl's arms were still loosely around her.

"Did you miss me?". She asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Daryl was shy about things like this, and she'd never know how much he thought of her while she'd gone missing.

He grunted in response. Soft lips were unexpectedly pressed onto his.

_[A/N: You have no idea how hard it is to not go out of character with them. Some of you guys reviewing make me laugh xD Apologies for the shortness of this chapter, they'll be longer soon. Thanks for reading! -Sam]_


	4. Chapter 4

At first he didn't know how to react. Daryl closed his eyes and felt himself kiss her back with slight aggression since it was the type of person he was. It went on like that for a while before they both needed air and pulled away from each other. Beth's lips were swollen and looked softer, and he wanted to kiss them again. He awkwardly leaned forward and pecked her.

They were quiet the rest of the night. It wasn't awkward, just a kind of nice time together. Eventually Daryl laid on his back in front of the fire, glancing over to her. He wanted to hear her sing, yet instead she just laid down beside him, scooted in, and rested her head on his chest. Her breathing calmed down; she was asleep. Daryl gently twisted a strand of blonde hair around his finger, doing that for what seemed like hours until he fell asleep.

The next morning they packed up and headed out, exchanging multiple glances between each other on the way. They needed food and supplies. Daryl noticed Beth still walked with a slight limp on the foot that'd been caught in a trap. They walked close by each other, their hands brushing every so often. He gave her a sideways glance before slinging his crossbow to his back, making it easier to put his arm around her shoulders as they walked. He could feel Beth's smile without looking at her. Her arm went around his waist loosely as they looked around the neighborhood they were in. Most of the houses looked raided, doors were kicked in, windows smashed. They kept walking for a long while until Beth stopped at a sign.

"Terminus.", She said aloud, reading off from the sign. "Those who arrive survive. The others would be there, if they're still alive.", she looked up to Daryl, a hopeful look on her face.

He thought about what Joe had said. 'Ain't no sanctuary for all.', Would they accept them in? Maybe she was right, and the group had met up there. If these signs were set up in more than one place, which he knew they were from finding the last one, the group very well could have seen them. Did he want to join the group again? He was perfectly content with being in a group of two. Beside him, Beth pulled her hair into it's usual long ponytail. Daryl shrugged.

"We can go up there and check.", he checked the roads, mentally remembering which ones to take from the red line on the map. "Might take a while to get there.", he began walking in the direction of Terminus. Beth limped along beside him, reassuring him she could walk on it still without hurting herself. About an hour later Daryl decided to hunt something down instead of raiding houses since it would be quicker. With Joe and the others, he'd acquired more bolts for his crossbow. He walked into the woods with her, crossbow in one hand. There was a fallen tree in front of them, about the size of a short fence. He hopped over it, holding his hand out to help Beth down. She held onto his hand afterwards, which didn't last long since a bunny yards away peeped out of it's hole. He released her hand, pausing before he got ready to shoot it. He instead handed the crossbow over to Beth, which made a little bit of noise and startled the rabbit. It ran a little ways away, but somehow Beth had managed to shoot it as it scampered.

Daryl flicked his eyebrows up, impressed by the shot. "Damn, girl.", he said, walking to see how good of a shot she made. It was okay, nothing too good but still impressive she hit it. He pulled the bolt out and wiped the arrow on his jeans. Beth wrinkled her nose at that. He started a fire, silently worrying if the gang had seen the smoke from the house the other night. They more than likely had, so making a fire now wouldn't make a difference. He cooked part of it, then tossed the rest in his trashbag. They ate quickly so they could get back on the road, seeing as they'd need water soon. Once they were done, they kicked dirt over the fire to help calm it, and left. On their way to Terminus, they raided a few houses, but had no luck until hours later. The house they found was abandoned and already looked as if raiders had been through it, but they found a few cans of fruit under the cabinet, and three water bottles leftover in an old pack of twenty.

It was about noon now as they continued down the road to Terminus.

"Think my sister will be there?", Beth asked curiously. She was holding the crossbow now, because Daryl's 'arms were tired'...or so he told her. He pointed at a blood smeared sign ahead. It read: GLENN, GO TO TERMINUS. MAGGIE SASHA BOB.

"I think so.", he said, nodding his head towards it. Beth's face lit up when she saw the sign. Not _everyone _was dead, assuming they made it to Terminus alright. He didn't know how long it would be until they reached their destination, but it seemed like they were nearly there.

Just as it was getting dark, they saw the big building with white letters, reading 'TERMINUS'. They walked up to the gate, which was unlocked. That seemed strange to Daryl, so he opened the door with caution and took the crossbow back. There was another sign saying to lower their weapons.

"To hell with that.", He grumbled, looking around the place. It looked nice, but almost too nice. He didn't see anyone for a while, but then smelled food from a distance. Around another corner, a woman was cooking.

"Hello!", she said, oddly excited. She flipped dark steaks on the grill that smelled a little off, smiling to both of them.

"I'm Mary.. welcome to Terminus."

"-Beth!"

_[A/N: So apparently they're killing a major character next episode I hear? o_o Who do you guys think it'll be? Leave a review and let me know, a lot of people think it's going to be someone unimportant and off to the side like Bob. Also I might kill who I think it'll be off on here, but you guys might feed me to walkers. -Sam]_


	5. Chapter 5

I turned around at the sound of my name, seeing Carol and Tyreese coming from the side door. It seemed like they'd just gotten here too, and then I noticed someone else was with them.

"Judith.", I said in a happy sigh, running over and taking her from Carol to hug her. Daryl slung his crossbow over his shoulder, still accessible in case. He was smiling from what I could see. "Little ass kicker.", he greeted, then nodded to Tyreese and Carol. He seemed happy to see Judith again, and even kissed the top of her head.

"Seen the rest of the group?", He asked them. They both shook their heads no. I frowned at that, but at least we weren't alone anymore.

"We were with the other girls but.. they're gone now.", Carol said, giving them each a long look.

A man awkwardly cleared his throat. "So I'm Gareth.", he said. "I'd appreciate it if you put your weapons down.", he glanced over every one of them. Tyreese was first, putting his hammer down on the ground slowly. Next was Carol. I put my knife on the ground and looked awkwardly to Daryl, who slowly set his crossbow down with a glare towards Gareth.

"_All_ of your weapons.", he met Daryl's gaze. The intensity made my skin crawl. Daryl took the knife off of his side and tossed it on the ground. They pat us all down in case we were hiding any weapons. Slowly, they began handing us our weapons back. Gareth went to pick up Daryl's crossbow, but he got to it first. I took my knife from one of the men who held it out to me, sticking it on my free side. Judith's small hands were in my hair, tugging on my ponytail. She kicked her legs, a wide smile on her face. I'd spent a lot of time with her so it didn't surprise me she missed me.

"You all must be hungry. We've got plenty.", Gareth nodded to Mary. Daryl pulled the animal we killed earlier out of his trashbag.

"This is goin' bad soon. We'll eat this, save your food.", he told them, handing it to Tyreese so he could grill it. I wondered if he could cook. Tyreese began cooking the food, and the rest of us sat at a spare table. Daryl was close beside me, and then I felt his breath tickle my ear.

"It's a little deserted for a sanctuary.", he said in a suspicious tone. I scanned the place with my eyes, noticing a lack of people. Tyreese brought the food back, handing us each paper plates. Judith was old enough to eat real food now, but only small pieces of meat at a time since most of her teeth hadn't come in yet. Gareth sat at a table next to us.

"People come and go, usually only stay here a short time.", He told everyone. "But we wouldn't mind having more permanent members." Daryl, acting as group leader, told him we'd think about it. They showed us where we could sleep for the night. I handed Judith off to Carol again while Daryl and I found a place to sleep. I didn't exactly want to sleep alone tonight. Even if he wasn't beside me, just in the room with me it would give me peace. We got in the room and set our stuff down. The top of a mattress sat in the corner of the room, surprisingly clean looking.

"Judith's okay.", I said, smiling. She was almost like a little sister to me, I'd sing to her at night to calm her down, take care of her when everyone was busy. I guess I wasn't useless after all. Daryl shrugged.

"She's a survivor.. like you.", he glanced sideways at me. It sent butterflies to my stomach anytime he did something like that. I walked over, setting my hand on his. "I wouldn't have made it here if I was alone.", I told him truthfully. Alone, without knowing how to track.. would mean death for me.

"I don't think any of us would have.. I just hope everyone's okay. Even if you say they're all dead, Judith and Carol and Tyreese are okay.", I was rambling now, but his arms were around me.

"I could be wrong.", he said hesitantly. "I was wrong thinkin' everyone was bad in this world.", His hand grazed my cheek. I stared at him.

"You never told me what changed your mind.", I wanted to hear him say it instead of mumbling. He looked around the room awkwardly, and I heard a grumble from him. I bumped him with my shoulder, making him look at me directly now.

"You.", He said with a little less mumbling. Both of us moved at the same time, our lips touching gently at first. As if someone flicked a switch, things heated up and he was gripping my hips, pulling me to him. I slid his vest off, then the thin shirt underneath that and laid my hands on his bare chest, wondering what the hell I was doing. His skin on mine felt like relief and fire packed into one feeling I didn't know how to describe. His lips were on my neck as he picked me up, setting me on top of a table nearby. Sure I'd done this kind of thing before with Zach, but not exactly this far. There was a loud sound outside, which made Daryl stop everything he was doing and spin around. I felt cool air on my chest and looked down, finding at some point my shirt had been taken off. Looking back at him, I noticed scars covering his back. My finger moved on it's own, reaching out and gently tracing one with the tip of my finger. He flinched, but didn't move for a moment. I took my hand away, and kissed his shoulder instead. There was another loud crash outside. We grabbed our shirts at the same time, but I got to his vest quicker and slipped it on. He gave me a once over, then shrugged, allowing me to wear it. He picked up his crossbow, I took my knife out of it's holster on my side. Then, there was gunfire.

"Stay here.", He told me, pushing me behind him as he opened the door a crack. "Shit."

"Walkers?", I asked, attempting to peer over his shoulder.

"Joe."

_[A/N: Sorry about the late upload, I wanted to see what happened on tonight's episode so I could still wrap terminus and all that around the show :3 SPOILER ALERT: Anyways, what. the. hell. No one died last episode and i'm pretty friggin' sure Joe isn't a main character so if they're counting that as the huge death.. Also damn rick just grab someone in their own territory and threaten them.. then continue running in the direction they want you to.. aghhh this episode killed me tonight with all the mistakes that were made. I'm still killing off who I thought was going to die., so that should be.. fun? Someone pointed out it may have been Beth yelling help me in one of those makeshift holding cells when Rick and the others were running from the gunshots that weren't going to hit them.. what do you guys think? This note's way too long already but also, what do you think about Beth's POV chapter?] _


	6. Chapter 6

The gang was hollering outside. Daryl instructed for me to get down as he tried to get outside with his crossbow. I didn't listen and followed him anyway, earning me a very annoyed look from him. We sneaked around the side of the building to get a good look at what was going on. Joe had Mary by the throat, a knife pressed against her pale flesh. Daryl gave me a long look, putting his crossbow up. He was about to shoot before I stopped him.

"He's moving. You might hit her.", I warned, my hand covering his on the crossbow. He glanced to me, then back to the others. Just then, someone grabbed me from behind and yanked on my ponytail so hard I was forced to stand. I tried to be quiet but a scream erupted, and Daryl spun around, crossbow ready. He couldn't do anything, since the guy was using me as a human shield. He had a gun against my head, the cold metal pressed against the side of my face.

"Look what we have here..", Joe handed Mary off to the others, and took me instead. He smelled horrible. Well, everyone nowadays smelled pretty bad.

Daryl was to his feet in a second, his eyes looking sorrier than ever to see me. If I died here.. he would blame himself again. The man escorting him around punched him below the belt and I lunged towards him, but couldn't do anything against Joe's tight grip.

Then I realized they hadn't taken away my weapons quite yet. They kicked Daryl to his knees and that's when I striked, grabbing my knife and stabbing Joe in one fluid movement. I pulled my knife out of his side, getting barely skimmed by an arrow on the way to Daryl's attacker. There was no hesitation when I lodged my knife in his throat. I took his gun after that and pointed it on the archer who'd nearly hit me earlier.

"Drop it.", I yelled, crouching down by Daryl. They didn't budge. "I said drop it!", I yelled louder, surprised my voice didn't quiver. In that moment I felt stronger, and I knew Daryl would be proud. That is.. until I felt a sharp pain at the back of my head and everything went black.

I woke up slowly with my ears ringing. I don't know where the hell I was, it was pitch black and I could hear distant cries from Daryl getting hit. Funniest thing about an apocalypse, your childhood fears come back. Afraid of the dark? There's a whole new twist on it. I felt around for my knife, however it was gone. It was so dark I couldn't see in front of me, so I tried to stand up, and fell back down from a sudden wave of dizziness. I still had Daryl's vest on, which brought a little comfort as I patted around the box I was in. It felt like a cargo crate almost. I kept feeling until I found the door, which I couldn't open. Voices were near by.

"Fine, but I get the bitch first.", Said one of the guys presumably from Joe's group. I frantically felt around for something I could use to my advantage, but again, there was nothing.

"Yeah yeah, when I'm done with her.", They opened the doors, and there was gunfire again. This time, it was people from Terminus. There was only four left in their group after what I'd done earlier- assuming Joe died. I kicked one man in the face as the doors opened and hopped onto the ground, falling and rolling. I was still dizzy, so running wasn't easy. I stood on my feet shakily, unsure of how long I'd been out. Without a moment to spare, I was running again. The screaming of Daryl stopped before I could get there, so I hid behind an overturned table until the two chasing after me passed. Around the corner, I saw him. He wasn't breathing- or so it appeared.

"Daryl.", I whispered, running over. He had a black eye and multiple bruises across his sides. He was too heavy, and I couldn't lift him. A couple yards away I heard banging from one of the other train carts. I walked over to it cautiously, until I heard the voices of people I knew. I quickly opened the door, and people from my old group spilled out.

"Let's go!", Rick shouted to the others as he practically kicked the door open after I'd unlocked it. He took a look at me.

"Beth?", he looked over to where Daryl was laying and frowned. "Come on we've gotta get him out of here.", he said to Glenn, going over and picking him up. They groaned at the weight, neither of them were strong enough. How long had they been in there?

"Wait! Carol and Judith are somewhere..", I said. The moment I said Judith, Rick looked at me with watered eyes. Beside him, Carl smiled at the mention of his sister. Bob took over the position Rick was in, helping carry Daryl off. Tyreese came from one of the buildings, covered in blood.

"Walkers!", he yelled, running over. Glenn and Tyreese switched out jobs temporarily so Rick and Glenn could get Judith and Carol.. wherever they were.

"Go.", Rick said to me. I'd been standing there a long time, probably from shock. The whole group left, except Maggie and Tara. They stayed behind to help Rick and Glenn. I wanted to stay, but Daryl was more important to me right now. My dad had began to teach me medicine before... so I knew some basics.

When we found a cramped up shack to set Daryl in, I took any makeshift supplies we had and tried to fix him up.

"I need alcohol.", I said to the people watching me bandage up Daryl's wounds. I realized I was wearing his vest and blushed at the look the others were giving me. Michonne offered, and Sasha decided to go with her. She however declined, telling Sasha she could handle her own, and abruptly left. Multiple times I checked to see if he was still breathing, clutching his hand between two of mine. Carl, who'd stayed because his father ordered him to, sat down on the other side of me and Daryl.

"Is he going to be okay?", he asked me, glancing from me to him. He looked bad, I couldn't blame Carl for thinkin' that way.

"He might have something broken, hard to tell with all of these bruises.", I told Carl as I traced a bruise on his side with my finger. I sat with my back flat against the wall, the others did the same. I finally noticed the rest of the group. They looked like they hadn't eaten in days, and there was even some new people I didn't know.

"How long were you in there?", I asked Sasha. She played with her thumbs- her arms rested on her knees.

"Day or two. I couldn't keep track.", she replied. I looked down at Daryl, checking his head for a fever. He felt a little warm, which worried me.

"So my sister's alive?", Carl asked, watching every move I made. I nodded. His hat sat by him, for once he wasn't wearing it. I reached over and plopped it on his head, smiling to him.

Tyreese spoke next, telling everyone about where he'd been after the attack at the prison. "Carol found us. Took care of Judith, and the other girls.", he explained, looking towards the door anxiously. "I should be out there helping. We're outnumbered. They have guns.", everyone's faces were grim then.

"There's only four..", I started, thinking about the guys left from Joe's group, but got a grim look.

"Not them. Terminus."

It wasn't until hours later, some of our group returned. I ran outside to flag them down since they didn't know where we were. Maggie ran forward, wrapping her arms around me in a hug. Her tears soaked my shirt, but I didn't cry, despite being happy to see her. Behind her, I saw Rick, soaked in blood and holding Judith in his arms. He was crying, whether happiness or grief I couldn't tell. Glenn was behind them, and that's when I got relief for my sister's sake. No one else followed.

"Carol? Tara?", I asked. Rick shook his head, setting a blue bag of weapons on the ground. Carl appeared from inside, taking Judith from Rick and giving her a giant kiss on the cheek. I smiled at that.

"Where's Michonne?", Asked Rick, looking over the survivors of the camp.

"Supply run. She should be back soon.", I told him. "Daryl hasn't woken up still.", I looked back to the small shack.

"We better move soon.", Rick said. "I saw what they are.. what they really are.", he glanced in the direction of Terminus. "They've been louring, holding and eating people.", With everything we've been through.. that wasn't a shock. Nothing surprised me anymore. I went back inside.

An hour later Michonne was back. It would be dark soon, and while she was out we could hear the people of Terminus calling and searching for us. She found a little bit of alcohol, cotton balls, and water. I cleaned Daryl up, wet a rag torn from my shirt, and pressed it to his head. It would be dark soon but no one dared to start a fire. I curled up next to Daryl to keep him warm, by then it was so dark no one would've seen me. Although, I wouldn't care if they had. I was careful of his wounds, keeping my head on my own arm instead of his. I had a dreamless sleep that night, but was woken up multiple times from snoring, or the group shifting. Finally at the crack of dawn, I felt movement beside me and my eyes snapped open to meet his.

"You're awake.", I whispered, putting my hand on his cheek. There was a bruise on his jaw I accidentally touched, and he flinched. I kissed his cheek softly instead. His hand found mine. He was quiet for a while.

"Any of 'em touch you?", he asked finally. His voice was strained and raspy. I handed him water.

"They tried.", I replied, smirking. His eyes were on his vest, which was now on me.

"Looks good on you.", He commented, propping his head up under his arms. I scanned the room, a couple of people were awake and watching us.

"Does anything feel broken?", I asked, pushing up the hem of his shirt. His hand came out and stopped mine, probably since the group was beginning to wake up.

"I'm fine, Beth.", He assured, taking a sip of water from the bottle I handed him. I tried to help him sit up but he shrugged me off, grunting as he hoisted himself upright. I looked to Rick who'd just stood.

"We're leaving in ten minutes.", He announced. "Can you walk?", he asked Daryl. Beside me, Daryl nodded and got to his feet.

Everyone in the group had a weapon. We didn't have much ammo, especially if we had a run in with Terminus members, but it was alright for now. Daryl and I walked slower, he clutched his side as he walked along with the group. His crossbow was heavy and probably didn't help the pain he was having- not that he'd let anyone know he was in pain. He spoke a little quietly, so the group wouldn't hear him.

"You did good.", He told me, glancing in my direction. A wave of confusion came over me.

"When?", I asked.

"Back there.", he slung his crossbow over his other shoulder. I took it from him so he wouldn't have to walk with the extra weight. A while of waiting and he explained. "Was badass to see you fightin' them.", he admitted, in a shy kind of way. I smiled at him, although killing people didn't make me happy, it was something I had to do.

"I saved your ass.", I gloated. He glared at me, but I knew it was playful.

"Keep talkin' like that and you can kiss it too."

_[A/N: SPOILER ALERT: Okay wtf no one died in the finale?! Also sorry for the late upload, my internet went out -_-". So the whole thing with Joe and Rick didn't really shock me since y'know, comics xD but like did anyone else think that finale wasn't that great? The final line could've been better.. yeah rick you show them with all of your power over terminus while you're locked in a box.. Any predictions for S5? leave a review :D]_


	7. Chapter 7

Oh snap a wild Daryl POV chapter appears.

Those guys beat the hell out of me. I don't know what was worse, the fact I couldn't do shit about it, or the fact Beth took a few hits from them too. She never told me, but when she dropped an arrow earlier I saw the bruises on her back, in the shape of a boot tip. Terminus being cannibal city didn't surprise me- hell nothing surprised me in this world anymore.

I looked at Beth, who had put my crossbow on the ground and was now playing with Judith. Her innocent giggles filled the quiet air, mixing with a few of Beth's own laughs. Half of the group went on a supply run, the other half staying behind with most of the weapons in case Terminus found the camp. I sat down beside the laughing girls with a small huff of pain, smiling down at Judith.

"Hey little ass kicker.", I greeted. She had her tiny fist in her mouth, chewing on it while Beth tickled her. They both looked happy despite having been held captive not almost a day ago. Beth looks between Judith and I, before plopping her in my lap. I don't wince despite the slight pain that shoots up my bruised leg, and awkwardly place my arms around her so she doesn't fall forward. Beth is still wearing my vest.. not that I'm complain'.

"Am I ever gettin' that thing back?", I ask, reaching over and jiggling the fabric. My arm returns to Judith, where I lift her and put her on my shoulders. She began drumming on my head, and tugging my hair, making Beth grin.

"No.", She said curtly. "I wish I had a camera.", She sighed, but I couldn't tell why. Judith kicks her small legs and I wince as her heels hit my sore shoulders. I look up to see the little girl on my shoulders staring at me. She grabs my nose and grins, kicking her legs again. I shake my head gently, getting free of her hand. Pretty much everything on my body was sore, but I couldn't let the group know that. I assumed Beth knew, she offered to do most things for me today like crossbow duty and some of the hunting. At least I assumed that's why, unless she got a pleasure from killin' things now. I glanced to the others in the group, no one was watchin' us but Carl, and he was focused on little ass kicker who was now moving her hands over my hair and tangling it. Beth's smile widened.

"Good to be with everyone again- isn't it?", She asked me. One thing was for certain, she was back to her old never shuttin' up self. Being with everyone meant less being with her, which I wasn't super excited about.

"Yeah.", I agree dryly. She gives me a worried look, but doesn't say anything again until the others get back.

Rick looks tired when he joins the camp along with the small portion of our group that ran along on the supply run. He smile's in Beth's direction, probably because Judith was sleeping on her. He sets something down between us- a stroller. Beside me, Beth moves carefully as to not wake Judith while she sets her in the slightly dusty stroller, and fastens her in with the belts. He looks over everyone in the camp with weary eyes.

"We need to get movin'.", he tells them. He's been on edge since we got away from Terminus, and I didn't blame him. This was their territory. They knew the area well and if we were going to survive we had to get far away from here. Some of the newer people in our group were going to Washington for some reason related to the outbreak. I didn't hear the exact reason because Beth had been wearing a low cut top and dropped her knife. I stood up, biting the inside of my cheek to stifle the groan that wanted to help soothe my pains. We walked. With the large group like this it seemed like we were an army storming down the road, different people walking and talking next to each other. Any time we came across a walker it was easier now that we could work together to kill them like in Joe's group. Joe.. she'd killed Joe. I know she thought about it when her eyes lingered on a distant tree for too long or when she shook in her sleep beside me. Nearly every night she'd crawl over to where I laid and stayed next to me for a while. I never pushed her away, though I wanted to so the group wouldn't see us. I couldn't deal with Maggie's protective shit with everything else going on. Since Beth pushed the stroller, I slung my crossbow over my shoulders, and whittled some arrows out of sticks as I walked by her. The whittling gave me an excuse to stay behind with her and the other slower paced people in the group. Rick almost detours off into the woods until I remind him it's harder to track people on the road. We stay on the road instead, being cautious as we go through different neighborhoods. It's strange to have a group this large- hasn't been this way in a while. Hours later, it's getting dark and it's time to eat the small game Beth and some others managed to catch. To feed fourteen people is ridiculous and three of them shouldn't even be our problem.

However, miracle boy and the other two new to our group take their share of food and the rest of us do the same. No more than a bite or two and multiple parts saved for Judith and the whole group finished off the couple of rabbits. Beth sits next to Maggie, they talk briefly about something and Beth glances in my direction. I hold her gaze for a minute until her cheeks turn pink and she plays with her knife, cleaning it. Maggie holds Judith, who sleeps in her arms. Everyone else is propped against trees or whatever else there is to offer some support, some of us stay awake in case walkers appear. Beth, myself, and Rick are the only ones awake by the end of the night. We all sit around a small fire buried into the ground so no one's able to see it. I glance to Rick.

"I've got it. Get some rest.", I tell him, the guy looks like hell. He didn't get any shut eye after the semi-successful run earlier. We got a few cans of fruit.

"Can't. Not with them out there.", Rick nods in the direction of Terminus. Beth gives him a sympathetic look and rests her hand on his shoulder. I shoot her an annoyed look she doesn't see.

"They won't catch us in the night.", Beth tells him. "Most people don't go out at night, too risky. Get some rest you've been out all day and you have kids.", she reminded, giving him a sideways hug and a kiss on the cheek. A tinge of jealousy filled my stomach, twisting it in a knot. I felt my jaw harden and my teeth grit together. I didn't say anything, just tossed sticks into the fire. Rick fell asleep.

The next morning I ignored her. Our group was busy, I had my crossbow in hand and the pain in my side dulled. Maggie pushed the stroller ahead, and I tried to stay with the group until Beth pulled me aside, coming to an abrupt stop.

"What is with you?", she hissed, her nails barely grazing my skin under her fingertips. I looked down at her and shrugged. She looked to the group to see how far they were. "You haven't talked to me all mornin' Daryl. Or looked at me.", I instantly feel guilt.

"I'm sure there's other people you'd rather be talkin' to.", I said under my breath, beginning to walk again now that I was out of her grasp. She grabs my arm and digs her nails into it, pulling me back.

"Hey, is this about kissin' Rick last night?", she frowned. "It was friendly."

"Didn't look that way.", I glance down at her. She doesn't bother to look at the group again before she pulls me down to her by my shirt, standing on her toes. Our lips meet softly at first, and one of my hands press her against me on her lower back. I feel someone walk past us and know it's Michonne, she usually stays astray from the group. I try to pull away as she walks past, but Beth doesn't let me go until seconds later. She stares at me and the group is near the end of the road and about to turn. The look of her eyes was like her scoldin' a puppy, and she simply turned away from me and half jogged to catch up with everyone. I match her pace, getting a glance from Michonne. I know she won't tell anyone, she kept to herself and generally stayed out of group affairs. Maggie would kick my ass if she knew, and the Korean would be right behind her with the husband brainwash effect. A while of walkin' and the group stops to rest.

"I'm goin' to hunt.", I tell Rick. Beth says she'll go with me. "Teachin' her too.", I explained, as if I needed an explanation for Rick- he always understood. Beth and I started out into the woods, my footsteps were quieter than hers.

"So.", Beth begins after a while. I hush her and she shoots me a narked look, but continues her sentence. "Back when I found you, you said somethin'.", _shit._ "You said claimed right? What was that about?", she asked. I didn't answer for a minute and she raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well?", she asks. I look at her and lower my crossbow to point at the ground.

"When we saw something we wanted we claimed it.", I felt myself say. Her cheeks warmed significantly. "I didn't want them touchin' you, so.", I raised the crossbow and put a finger to my lips, hearing a noise in the forest. A doe nibbled on the tall grass yards away. I pull the trigger and land a killing blow. Beth smiles widely beside me and we walk over to it. Kneeling down, Beth is watching me from above while I pull out the arrow.

"Daryl?", She says as I wipe the bloodied arrow on my pants. I look at her expectantly. "I would'a claimed you too.", she said quietly, her pink cheeks now red.

I wanted to kiss her, but I don't deserve to.

"We need someone to help carry this.", I feel myself say, looking from the doe to her. She sighs in frustration and begins walking off to where the others are, and I follow. We return to the doe with Tyreese who helps us get it to our camp. Sasha cuts the animal and gets the good parts of the meat. Carl watches, probably makin' notes for when he's on his own one day. Beth is with Judith and Rick while the others are talking to Abraham and Rosita. I can hear Beth speaking from my seat of grass.

"She looks like you.", She was saying to Rick. He smiled at her, despite everything going on he could still smile. His smile was strained however.

"Thank you.", he said with honesty. "Means a lot to me.", he kissed Judith's head and Beth sat down beside me, her knees tucked to her chest. On her wrist I see the one feint cut on her wrist from the night she tried to kill herself. I didn't pay attention to it back then, she was acting like a kid. Maybe she was a kid still, even so I still wasn't good for her. I was like Joe and the others, not pure like her. _She's killed people. _I remind myself. She can't be that pure, but she is to me. Without thinking about it, my hand closes over her wrist where the scars are, and we exchange a long look. Tyreese is coming toward us. I drop her wrist and he sits by us.

"Rick told me about Carol.", he said. "She sacrificed herself for Judith.", we hadn't been told this yet, I assumed Rick would've explained if I'd of asked. I didn't want to know, hell, she was my friend and all. Beth's hand went to Tyreese's knee.

"She was a good woman.", Was all Beth said, sounding older than she was. I counted to three, after three I'd take her hand off of him. When I got to two her arm lowered. Tyreese and Beth exchanged a few of Carol's advices and jokes, then he broke away from us again. Beth looks solemn, and I feel the same way. My hand finds hers, and we stare at each other for the longest time until a voice clears.

Maggie.

_[A/N: Ayyy it's 2am here so don't blame me for any mistakes made. I figured I should do a full Daryl POV chapter instead of that awkward 3rd person writing I started off with. It might flip flop or go to someone else in the group's completely but I don't know how that would turn out. Hope you're enjoying the chapters :) Trust me terminus hasn't been forgotten, this is only the beginning. Also hugs to the people in other countries reading this :D Awesome to know people everywhere are reading this. Thanks again for all of the reviews I really appreciate them and all of the other feedback too :) -Sam]_


	8. Chapter 8

When I heard my sister's voice, I assumed she was talking to me.

"Can I speak with you?", She asked not me, but Daryl beside me. My heart pounded, wondering if somehow people knew about me and Daryl, or if they had, what they'd think. Daryl didn't answer her directly, only stood. Maggie began to walk off, and he shot a glance of comfort in my direction. My eyes followed them until they were out of earshot. It was still morning, and we still had a lot of moving to do. I looked in the direction of my sister and Daryl, she was serious for a while, but now smiling. It had only been a few minutes but it felt longer to me. She wasn't wearing a bra, as always. Most of the men in our group stared at her, I always wished I could pull attention like she could in the simple ways. She was strong and sexy and more of a leader than I'd ever be, so I don't know what Daryl saw in me.

Sasha hands me a piece of bloodied meat, instructing me to take it over to our small fire where Rick and Tyreese were cooking the other bits slowly but surely. We'd cook it all before moving, each person would have their own portions to last them a while. I handed the meat off to them, then wiped my hands in the grass to wash them somewhat on the morning dew. I looked over to where Daryl and Maggie were talking earlier to see Maggie back with Glenn and Daryl sitting on a stump, making extra arrows out of branches. Random conversation topics and laughs filled my ears from the others as I awkwardly walked around them back to Daryl, pretending I had an important question about tracking. He was quiet when I sat down in front of him.

"So, how do you make those?", I asked. He grabbed my knife from my side and handed it to me handle out. I took it from him along with a stick. He moved to the ground beside me to show how thick to make the arrow, and how to make the sharp tip. Eventually he was fed up watching me do what I thought was right, and took both of my hands in his, moving mine to shave the correct amount of wood down. Once I had that, we made plenty of bolts in no time. He put a few in the holder underneath the crossbow, and the rest went in his plastic trashbag. He needed a backpack, so I made a mental note to find him one soon. About noon is when we got all the meat cooked and evenly distributed across everyone. Rick informed the group we were helping the new people get to Washington, because one knew what started the outbreak. Daryl looked reluctant to go along, but I didn't want to leave my sister and I don't think he'd leave without me. Rick handed Judith off to me and began going over the map with Glenn, figuring which route would be best. They also mentioned getting a car or two to fit all of us, so we'd spend a few days finding them. Once we had a quiet moment together again, I looked to Daryl.

"What did Maggie want?", I asked him, Judith's head rested on my shoulder. She was fussy today and didn't want to ride in the stroller. Some of the group split apart to find cars, while the rest of us stayed at our new camp hours away from the old one. It was by a small stream, clean water and a chance to wash clothes. I set Judith down and undressed her, leaving her in her cloth diaper while I washed her clothes. She picked up a long stemmed flower, shaking it around and smiling.

"Nothin' important.", He replied, awkwardly watching me lay out the clean-ish clothes to dry. I took off his vest and handed it to him so I could take my overshirt off to wash it. Even though I had a tank top underneath I still felt a light blush on my cheeks as I did so. I knew he was looking at me by his silence. We were practically alone over here except for Judith who was preventing anything from happening or not happening. I glanced up, my eyes meeting Daryl's for a minute. He cracked a smile, sort of.

"You look like a damn strawberry.", he muttered.

"Damn!", I heard from a smaller voice. My eyes widened and I smacked Daryl on the shoulder. "Look what you taught her!", I complained. I'd hear something from Rick about this if she kept saying it.

"You're no better teachin' her to hit!", Daryl shot back. He was smirking now.

"Damn!", Judith repeated. I groaned and laid out my over shirt in the sun by Judith's clothes to dry. It was hot out today, so the sun should dry them quickly. He glanced between Judith and I.

"Say somethin' else like.. Beth.", he suggested instead. Now he was the one turning a lighter pink. I looked at him and he shrugged. "Gotta learn our names sometime.", He laid back in the grass. Judith simply repeated damn again, and crawled over to where Daryl laid. She climbed on his stomach and bounced, making him grunt in pain. I shook my head, a smile playing at my lips while I took my pants off to wash those too. I nervously glanced to where Daryl was, but he was too distracted by Judith to notice my lack of clothing. The stream was too small to bathe in or else I would've considered just jumping in, but it felt nice on my feet while I busied myself. Judith's laughter filled my ears, I assumed Daryl was tickling her. Judith's clothes were mostly dry now but I didn't dare interrupt them. My overshirt was dry too, so I slipped that on leaving it unbuttoned. They were quieting down, I noticed Daryl staring at me and grabbed Judith to put her dried clothes on. When I was done I kissed her head.

"Need anything washed?", I asked him, glancing shyly to him. He shook his head. It took forever for my pants to dry, leaving an awkward situation until they were, but Judith kept things light until I put them on. They were still a little damp but I didn't mind.

Beside me Daryl lit up a cigarette. I wrinkled my nose at it, and he offered it to me. I hesitated for a moment, but I was always curious to see why everyone smoked them before the whole walker issue. I took it from him and breathed in once it touched my lips. I coughed a lot after that, handing it back to him and shaking my head.

"That.. is.", I shook my head. He smirked.

"Acquired taste I guess.", he said. "Wasn't very good my first time either.", I wondered if he was _just _talking about the cigarette. The question was burned into my mind now, had he slept with anyone before? I pulled Judith into my lap while I thought.

"I'm startin' to miss that moonshine.", I admitted sheepishly. At first, it wasn't supposed to be something I said out loud and I was embarrassed. Daryl laughed quietly.

"Yeah. Said some pretty bad things that night.", His eyes went lower onto me, and I knew he was looking at the scars on my wrist. Of course I remembered what he said but I hadn't given them much thought. Thinking about them now kind of hurt a little bit. _I never cut myself for attention! _I stared at the blades of grass moving in the wind. His hand was on my cheek, his fingertips brushed my face and tickled it. It was like a silent apology, and I knew that's all I'd ever get out of that night. One of my hands came up to touch his. I turned my head, kissing the palm of his hand and smiling at him.

It was dark that night. Most of the group was back and making plans. Tomorrow Daryl and I would go with the group to help look for car parts. They were teaching me things more often now that the group split up happened. Carl would be coming with us too, so he'd know how to get a car in emergency. I sat near the small fire in the ground we had. When that burned out minutes later I was left in the dark. My eyes adjusted slightly, enough for me to crawl around and know where people laid. I felt a hand on my wrist, knowing it was Daryl, and laid down next to him. He put his arms around me. It was surprisingly cold tonight, despite the heat of this morning. I felt him move around a bit, then he draped something cloth over me. It felt like a blanket. I must've been shivering. I didn't want him to be cold, so I spread it halfway on him and halfway on myself. Even though we hadn't done much today, I was out in seconds.

I was woken up by Daryl getting up just before the sun rose. It was dark, and no one else was awake as far as I could see. I stopped him, pulling him back down to me which with slight resistance, he dipped down and kissed me. His lips fit mine, gently moving with them despite how aggressive he normally was. Maybe it was something about getting a good night's sleep that made him sweeter. His hand went under my first shirt and rested on my side, my arms hooked around his neck in response. The kiss between us deepened, he was hovering over me now and the weight of him made it harder to breathe. Normally a guy would prop himself up as to not crush me, but he hadn't been with too many women as far as I could tell. He grunted when my leg went around his waist, that seemed to wake him up out of the trance we were in. His hand left my breast, where it had some point moved away from my side, and he rolled off of me panting. I was out of breath and my lips felt heavier, when I sat up I noticed someone awake- Carl. He silently stared at me, and my face heated up until I couldn't look at him anymore. He didn't say anything to me or Daryl, and I'm sure Daryl didn't even notice he was awake. I was the one to wake up everyone going with us today- Rick, Michonne, Carl, and Bob. One of the people from the other group came with- the woman named Rosita. The group split. Bob and Rosta went into one house, Daryl and I walked with Michonne to one down the block, leaving Rick and Carl alone.

Michonne was quiet as usual. I liked her despite barely knowing her. She was pretty badass, anyone in the group had to admit that, even Daryl. Michonne checked the upstairs of the house we walked into, while me and Daryl checked the kitchen. I bent over to check a cabinet and felt something brush against my backside, making me stand up straight and turn around. All I saw was Daryl across the room, going through cabinets with his crossbow slung over his back. I frowned, doubting it could be him by the distance between us. I kicked the door to the cabinet shut and climbed on the counter to reach the cabinet above the fridge. Daryl's hands were on me in a second, steadying me so I didn't fall. One hand was on my back, and one was on my hip. I felt safer as I searched the cabinet, finding some instant oatmeal and a few jars of peanut butter.

"Not bad.", Daryl said, picking me up and gently dropping me onto the ground. I smiled at him, and was about to kiss him, but Michonne walked into the room.

"Found one of Carl's comics.", she told us, holding it up. "And sleeping bags.", she tossed us each one to carry. Michonne never carried things when she went out on a run with people. We checked the garage last, where I found a backpack and shoved the peanut butter and oatmeal, then gave it to Daryl.

"Here, thought you could put your stuff in it.", I told him, going over to the beat up looking car and popping the hood for Michonne. Daryl gave me the backpack. "You wear it.", he said. "I've got the bow, no room for one right now.", he had a point. Plus his things were back at camp. I put the extra sleeping bags into the backpack, leaving barely any room. We found a battery that was seemingly okay, and stuck it in there too. There wasn't any gas in the car, not that we could've used it anyway. A couple more houses, and a pack of beef jerky later, we met back up with the others and walked back to camp together. They had luck, finding enough gas to last us a few days, but now we just needed a vehicle, like a bus. We would move camp again, walking a few days, and then look for a bus to save time and get further away from Terminus. When we got to the camp, everyone froze. Daryl pulled me behind a tree surrounded in a few bushes.

"Shit.", he said. Carl was beside us, Rick and Michonne had been discovered along with Bob. In our camp was Gareth and others, guns loaded. Some were missing. Rosita sneaked around the sides, trying to get to the two guys she was with. Glenn was trying to reason with them in between taking punches, but lost it when someone touched Maggie. I wanted to help, but Daryl held me back.

"We should run.", he whispered in my ear. It wouldn't be much help if we were caught. I heard a gunshot, and Maggie's scream, and ran.

_[A/N: Sorry for the late upload x_x I've been out of the house so much this weekend which is weird and by the time I got home I was tired as hell leaving me no energy to write. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, I'm way too sleepy to go over it and revise it further. Thanks for reading as always :) Make sure and review, I love reading you guys' thoughts. -Sam]_


	9. Chapter 9

I ran with her. Sometime along the way Beth had stopped running, hunched over with her hands on her kneecaps. She inhaled and exhaled, her body moving fast and her eyes wide open and alert.

"We have to go back.. Maggie.. Judith..", she gasped out, as if she'd just realized what happened. Her body had more than likely gone into shock. I shook my head.

"We'll die.", I said, grasping her hand and tugging her in the opposite direction. She frowned, and smacked my arm.

"Daryl!", She protested. "They could be dyin' right now!" She had a point. But to risk her life, hell no.

"Stay here. I'm goin',", I said as I finally gave up on arguing with her. I let go of her hand and started to walk but she stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm not leavin' without you.", She said quietly, a trace of fear laced into her words. We exchanged a long look, and I bent down to kiss her.

"Stay.", I said firmly. "Go up the road, hide n' the first house you see.", she opened her mouth to protest but I stopped her again with my lips. "I'll try and get little ass kicker.", I promised her when I pulled away. "If there's trouble I'm gettin' out of there." She balled up her fist and bit the inside of her cheek, her eyes slightly blurred.

"Alright.", She turned abruptly, whispering be careful, and walked off. I took off in a full run back to the camp, hiding behind various objects when I arrived. There, I saw Maggie on her knees, gun pressed to her head with blood covering her arms. She was crying, silently, but her face was stone cold. Rick was no where to be seen, neither was Carl or the others- only Maggie. Behind me, I heard a distant cry from a child and took off again in that direction.

"Shh, Judith please.", I heard, assuming it was Carl. I walked out, crossbow ready in case it wasn't. The kid had his gun pointed at me as soon as I made sound, but lowered it.

"Where's Rick?", I asked, relieved to see little ass kicker in his arms. Carl stood, but was silent.

"Let's go, they probably heard Judith crying.", Carl said. I helped him in the right direction, and we both ran along the road Beth was once walking. We came up to the first house, and the door was open a crack. _Beth. _We walked in. I heard distant struggles and rushed upstairs.

There was a walker on top of her, and a bookcase on top of it pinning them both down to the ground. I didn't hesitate to shoot it in the head.

"You okay?", I asked while moving the bookcase. Books spilled out everywhere. Carl picked one up for some reason, stuffing it in my backpack. I pushed the walker off of Beth and helped her up, bringing her into a hug.

"I'm fine.", She told me, looking over to Carl and Judith. She ran over and hugged them both. Carl didn't look too happy to be treated like a kid, but accepted it nonetheless.

"They won't expect us to stop movin'.", I heard myself say. "We're stayin' here tonight.", I closed the door to this room, and pushed the bookcase onto it. The smell of the walker was disgusting, but we could deal with it for the night. We all sat under the window, so no one would see us inside, and finally got some peace of mind.

"Glenn's dead.", Carl said suddenly, his voice rushed. "One of the Termites shot him."

"Termites..", Beth repeated, playing with the word on her lips. She had a hard frown settled on her face, but again, didn't cry. "Maggie?", She asked. I wouldn't tell her what I saw, and exchanged a look with Carl.

"I didn't see her there.", I said, and pulled out some of the cooked deer. We each passed it around, tearing off chunks. Beth fed Judith, helping her get smaller pieces.

"Oh.", Beth said quietly, not really believing me. "Maybe she got away..", She pulled Judith into her lap and wrapped her arms around the baby's waist. Carl quietly ate his portion of the meal, watching us talk.

"I guess the group's separated again.", Carl said quietly, not happy he wasn't with his father I assumed. Beth placed her hand on his sympathetically, and I frowned.

"We found each other before, it'll be okay.", Beth told Carl. Just as I was about to clear my throat, there was a noise downstairs. I placed a finger to my lips and loaded a bolt into the crossbow. Beth slung the backpack onto her shoulders, and came to a crouch, handing Judith to Carl. She took out her knife, ready to fight if necessary. The footsteps came up the stairs, quiet and careful. If it had been someone from Terminus, I assumed they'd know this house already. The door to our room was pushed, and the bookshelf moved with the small shove. I looked through the crack of the door, crossbow ready, but stopped when I saw a familiar face.

"Michonne.", I announced, and moved the bookcase aside. Carl gave Judith back to Beth who'd sheathed her knife, and hugged Michonne.

"Seen Rick?", I asked her. She shook her head. "They have Maggie.", She told us. I glanced to Beth, who had a sad look in her eyes- because she knew we couldn't save her. That night we stayed in the house, separating rooms for the kids. Even though there wasn't a fireplace, it stayed pretty warm with Beth beside me. She and I sat with our backs against the wall for the longest time, just holding hands. I felt her head hit my shoulder, hesitant at first, then relaxed.

I put my arm around her. "Sorry..", I started. "'Bout Maggie.", she looked to me with confusion in her eyes.

"I saw her back at the camp. Glenn was gone and she just sat there.", I told her. This made her expression sadder.

"You knew and you didn't tell me?", She frowned, staring at me.

"Didn't have a chance to before someone else did.", I said. She nodded, and pulled me into a sudden hug.

"What are we going to do?", She whispered in my ear. "Look for the group? Are they dead? Should we even bother?", she let out a large sigh and buried her head in the space between my chin and shoulder. I wasn't sure how to comfort her, so I did the best I could by rubbing her back and pressing an occasional kiss to her head. She fell asleep like that, sitting up and on me. I held her there, getting looks from Michonne who was rooming with us.

I didn't care anymore about what the group would think of us. Maybe it was because the group wasn't here, maybe it was because I cared about her more than anyone, even my brother. She showed me more love daily than my family had in my whole life. Maybe I could've had something like this before everything went to shit, but maybe I didn't want anyone but her. I fell asleep to the sound of her breathing.

We were at the camp. We went back after last night, seeing if anyone left behind anything. We found Maggie, face down in the dirt, and Beth cried out when she saw her.

"Oh god.", She whispered, hand over her mouth with tears streaming her cheeks. "Is she dead?", I leaned down to feel her pulse. She was very much alive. Beth and I rolled Maggie over, finding her eyes open but not responding to us.

"Maggie..", Beth whispered, heartbroken over her sister.

"Glenn..", Maggie's eyes were red and dry. Beth took her sister's hand, sobbing quietly. "I know.", She told her. "Come on get up.", she coaxed. Maggie shook her head. "Get up!", Beth shouted, trying to tug her sister into a sitting position. Her sister again shook her head. I picked Maggie up instead. "No one else is dyin'.", I said with a grunt, putting Maggie's weight on my shoulder. She was limp, and unfighting.

"Daryl put me down.", She said after an hour of walking. My shoulder burned. I set her down, seeing as this was the first time she'd spoken since we found her. She ran to the bushes, vomiting. We waited patiently as she came back, holding her arms and staring at her feet. We continued.

"We need a car.", Beth suggested awkwardly. Her sister stiffened.

"We _need _to take down terminus.", she spat. "If none of you are comin' with me then go.", the look in her eyes was glassy and cold. Everyone exchanged glances.

"I'll come.", Said Michonne. I was about to say I'd go with when Beth pulled me aside.

"Don't even think about it.", She said. "I spent time without you not knowin' if you were dead and I'm not about to do that again, because we can't leave Judith with Carl, he's already got enough to deal with.", she took my hands and stared intently into my eyes until I spoke.

"I'll stay.", I said, pulling her into a quick embrace. Carl and Michonne were fighting over who else should go.

"Carl we need you here.", Beth frowned.

"Why so you two can have play dates while I watch Judith?", he shot back.

"Carl!", Beth scolded, frowning.

"You know he's way too old for you and there's always been me.", Carl said, moving towards the door. "I'm going for a walk.", he kicked a stray book and slammed the door on his way out.

_[A/N: extremely sorry, my internet friends keep pulling me into games and stuff. -_-" I tried to get this written quickly, so excuse any mistakes and if this is shorter than the rest I'm sorry I haven't had time to think of what is going to happen. I'll update ASAP, thank you for the reviews :D hope you're having fun reading. -Sam]_


	10. Chapter 10

In the end, everyone went before Carl came back. It left Judith and Beth with me, and we all sat on the floor of the house. Judith with a doll we found in one of the rooms, chewing on it's slightly dusty arm. I sat against the wall, looking at the ceiling. "We're goin' to have to leave here soon.", I said, looking at Beth's hunched shoulders. She didn't take her sister's grief well, or the fact Glenn had died, but tried to hide that from me by having dried eyes. Her hand was loosely in mine. She nodded.

"When Carl gets back.", She glanced to me, then Judith. Two hours ago was when he left, who knew if he was coming back. On cue I heard a bang downstairs. I stood up, deciding it was time to have some sort of awkward talk with Carl, and made my way downstairs. I paused at the last two steps, seeing two guys from terminus searching the house for signs of life. They glanced up, seeing me, and I ran back up the steps as fast as I could. I hid at the top of the stairs behind the small wall, searching my surroundings for a weapon.

"Beth!", I screamed, panicked. "Bring the bow!", I settled for my fists, since Beth had my knife. A man came around the corner and I didn't think twice to hit him below the belt, then elbow the back of his head so he'd fall. The other pounced on me, slamming me back into the wall and nearly knocking me over. A knife was at my throat.

"You don't wanna be doin' that.", I heard Beth's steady voice say as my crossbow was pointed to the man in front of me. Judith was behind her, holding her pant's leg. Beth made a motion for the guy to move, and when he did she shot him in the head without a blink. She turned to me.

"Other one dead?", she asked. I shook my head and she took her knife- my knife- out, slitting the other's throat. "Now we have to move. Walkers will smell the blood..", she said quietly, putting the knife back at her side. I walked over and picked up Judith.

"We'll find Carl eventually.", I began, "-but we got to find another place. Now.", I grabbed her hand, holding Judith with my free arm, and tugged her outside. She remembered to retrieve the arrows before we left, and I felt proud to know she was learning from me. I worried about her, killin' seemed to be coming easier to her now. The three of us walked for hours, Beth insisted on leaving a note to tell Carl to find us, and that we were moving north. It was risky since the people from Terminus may come back to find their people, so I found a place suitable to stay the night where we could watch anyone coming from the south. It was a small shed with one window, I killed the single walker inside and dragged him around back. Beth babyproofed so Judith wouldn't scratch herself on something sharp or rusty. I suggested first watch. Beth wrapped Judith in her overshirt, letting the kid fall asleep for once today, and set her down gingerly once she passed out. She then crawled over to where I sat and took my hand in hers.

"Think he'll come?", She asked quietly, so not to wake up Judith. My head was tilted back on the rotting wood wall, and my free arm rested on my head.

"Yeah.", I said. "He's not stupid. He'll come, kid's got a temper.", I was tired of walking and fighting and wanted rest. She seemed to notice this, and I felt her hand on my shoulder.

"Sleep Daryl.", I heard Beth's concerned tone say. "I'm not tired anyway. I'll be fine. You go ahead and I'll wake you up if I hear somethin' okay?"

It took me a second, I didn't feel like she'd be safe, but I nodded.

I woke up to a loud noise. First thing I saw was a revolver on the ground, followed by a sheriff's hat, and knew Carl had just found us. I looked up to find Beth holding him against the wall, angrier than I'd ever seen her.

"You did what?!", She asked, her brows furrowed together like some sort of angry but cute animal.

"I tried to reason with them.. they've got Michonne. And Dad.", his pleading innocent eyes bugged me. Kid was smarter than that.

"My sister?", Beth asked quietly, I saw her face fall the smallest amount.

"I-I don't know. She ran in there before any of us were ready and started killing everyone. It got us found out.", The kid had a split lip and a bruise on his cheek, followed by a black eye swelled shut. He was holding his shoulder, quietly asking Beth to move her hand. He'd knocked it out of socket, and had to pop it in himself in the midst of the fight.

"Passed out after.", He said, looking at the ground in shame. "I woke up outside of Terminus. I don't know who moved me or if I sleepwalked.", now I knew for sure he was lying. He must've made a deal, and Beth stared for a second in disbelief. She shook it off. "Here you must be hungry.", she said instead, and grabbed some of the dried deer meat. He bit off a chunk, then went over to his sister and picked her up, giving her a long hug like it'd be his last. Beth and I exchanged glances.

"We got to find another group.. maybe someone will help us.", She said suggestively. She was always an optimist. Carl spun around, his eyes were red and irritated.

"Look at those people! They _eat us,_ Beth. Wake up everyone's not a saint.", he spat at her. He was getting smarter as the apocalypse went on, grew older than he should be.

We made camp that night, everyone sat around a small fire. Beth was tense, and drawing in the dirt with sticks so thin they kept snapping. She got frustrated and used a larger stick. Judith sat in Carl's lap, playing with the doll we found in the last house. She shook it and chewed on it's dusty ears.

Then something happened I wasn't aware I'd been missing- Beth was singing. It was the same song from the house that night, and if the kids hadn't been there I would've been tempted to rip her clothes off more than I already wanted to. It got me thinking.. was Beth a virgin? She looked the type maybe, having not even had a drink before. I'd have to save that question for later. It was quiet, except for the occasional gibberish and "Beth!", shouts coming from Judith.

Morning came again. Except this time- no Carl or Judith was to be seen. I woke Beth and we began tracking them down. It seemed like hours until the tracks stopped at a house. I had my crossbow ready, instructing Beth to open the door with a simple nod. When she did, I stormed in with her behind me. A familiar pair of faces looked at me wide-eyed, and I lowered the crossbow.

"Tyreese.", I said, greeting him. Carl and Judith sat by him.

"Where the hell were you goin'?", Beth scolded.

"I had to find somewhere safe for Judith and I ran into Tyreese.", he said quietly.

"Oh and you think there's somewhere safer n' us?", I said loudly, making a gesture with my right hand. He looked me square in the eye and said "Yes.". I started forward, but Beth held me back. Of course I wouldn't do anything to Carl- hell I wasn't my Dad, but sometimes you just had to make someone fear you to earn respect. Beth would'a told me different.. told me I had to give mutual respect and that I wasn't doin' any better than a bully would've. She hugged Tyreese briefly which sparked a small amount of jealousy in me, but I ignored it. Carl still stared me square in the eye. He wasn't afraid of shit, so I'd leave it to Beth since women seemed to strike deeper with women. She sighed.

"Carl where do you think you were going to go after dropping Judith somewhere? To Terminus to get yourself killed?", she said loudly. "Because everyone we know may as well be dead. And we're going to have to accept that and move. on.", she had point. We couldn't go back there and risk Judith's life anymore than it was already daily risked. We had to be together- even if the kids got in the way of what I wanted. Carl stared at his feet for a while. You couldn't see his face beneath his sheriff hat, but eventually droplets dropped down, making a quiet tapping on his shoe. Beth wrapped her arms around him, and his quiet sobs filled the morning.

[_a/n: sorry this is short and might have mistakes x_x next chapter will be much longer and have more Bethyl scenes :D. Those c*ck blocking kids. I got wrapped up in school crap, i'm sure most of you feel my pain with that one. Thank you for 70_ _reviews O_O wowza. Anyways, I have a question for you guys, do you prefer Beth or Daryl's POV chapters more? :O -Sam_]


End file.
